Israel's Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) on Wednesday published statistics showing that the number of Jewish students is expected to grow between 2020-2024, while the number of students in Arab schools is expected to drop during that period.
A full 1.819 million students will study in Israel's schools in the 2019-2020 school year, representing a 29% growth since last year.
Over the years 2020-2024, the number of students in Israel's public school system is expected to increase by 168,000 students, for a total 1.958 million students and increase of 9.4% since 2019.
During the same period of time, the number of students in the Jewish public school system is expected to increase by 857,000, or 10.7%.
The number of students in the Jewish-religious public school system is expected to jump to 279,000, for a 13.2% increase in comparison to 2019.
Meanwhile, the number of students enrolled in independent haredi schools is expected to increase 16.6%, to a total 384,000 students.
The number of students enrolled in independent Arab schools is expected to drop by 0.5%, or approximately 2,000 students, to 437,000.
The average annual difference in the Arab public school system is expected to remain static, with a 2.1% change per year, while annual change in the Jewish-religious public school system is expected to increase. In Arab and haredi schools, the annual rate of change is expected to decrease slightly.
Most of the increase in the numbers of Jewish students are Central, Tel Aviv, and Jerusalem districts, each of which is expected to see a 14% increase in the number of students between the years 2020-2024.